My First Lesson In Doing For Myself
by Sweets Omega
Summary: This is the first in a series of stories about things that happened to me when I was living in Jasper Park, Canada as a part of the Western Pack.


**My First Lesson in Doing for Myself**

I remember one time when I was a pup - I was being a typical pup and wanting to explore the big ol' world around me. I'd wandered away from the den area without my Mom noticing, since she was busy trying to find food for all of us pups she was in charge of for the day while their parents were out on their various duties.

I got a little nervous as I got farther away from my Mom, but my curiosity kept me going. As I started getting into the forest, I stopped and took a look around to see if there was anything new for me to check out.

Then I saw it. There, just off the path, was a hole in the forest floor. It was just _begging_ to be looked down into. I walked over to the edge and did just that. It was _deep!_ The deepest hole I'd ever _seen!_ I leaned over a little to try to see the bottom. Then the edge started to crumble away from under my paws! Before I could jump back, I was falling into the hole! It felt like I fell for a long, long time, though I knew it was just a second or two. I hit the bottom on my side with a yelp, which knocked the breath out of me for a few moments. I sat up as I caught my breath, and looked around for a way out. There was none. I looked up and saw the top, but it was way too far for me to reach. I was trapped!

I started whimpering to myself, then I yelped out loud "Help! I'm trapped down here! Help me!" I kept yelping for help, hoping that someone would hear me.

What seemed like hours later, but really were only a few minutes, a shaggy gray head appeared at the top of the hole, almost completely blocking out the light. I instantly knew who it was: Winston, our pack leader! If anyone could save me, I knew _he_ could! I laid my ears back and wagged my tail happily. I called out in relief, "I'm _so_ glad to see you, sir!"

"I'm just glad to see you're all right, young one." He looked down at me in concern mixed with relief. He frowned slightly as I saw his nose working to identify me. "'Sweets', is it?"

I grinned and nodded, my tail wagging even faster. He'd remembered my name! Me! An Omega! Our leader had remembered my name! "Yes, sir. I'm Sweets."

He frowned down at me. "You're supposed to be with the other pups with your mother. She must be worried sick about you. What were you doing out here on your own?"

I felt ashamed, but our leader had asked me a question. I had to answer. I hung my head, but then I looked up at him and said "Well, sir . . . I only have one word to explain myself: curiosity."

"Ahhh, I see . . . " Winston chuckled. "That's understandable, but you should know better than to wander off on your own like this, young one. I know you're an Omega, but are you sure you don't _think_ you're an Alpha?" He chuckled again and smiled.

I knew he was joking, but I still felt like I'd forgotten my place. I hung my head again. "No, sir. I would never presume anything like that. I'm sorry, sir."

He held up a paw and continued to smile at me. "Oh, don't worry about it, young one. It was a joke, nothing more." He started to frown in concentration. "Now . . . how do we go about getting you out of there? It's too narrow and deep for me to come down there for you . . ."

I started to cry. "I don't want to be stuck down here, sir! I want to be back where I belong, with my Mom and the rest of the pack!"

He gently called out to me. "Sweets, it's all right. We'll figure out a way to get you out. You're a part of my pack. I won't leave you here, I promise."

He thought for a few more moments as I calmed down. He narrowed his eyes and was studying the edge of the hole. "This seems fairly soft," I heard him say to himself, "Hmmm, I wonder . . ." Then he called out to me "Do you think you could do something like this?" He reached in and scraped his paw across a place just under the lip of the edge and the dirt fell away, making a small hole in the wall just below. "If you could, you'd make steps to climb back out on. If you were an adult, it probably wouldn't work, but since you're a pup, you should be light enough . . ."

I stood up and squared my shoulders. "I'll do it, sir!" I went up to the wall and started digging at about the height of my head, since I knew I could step up that high. In a few moments, I had the first step dug! Winston called out encouragement to me as I went, until finally, I reached the step he'd dug to show me what to do. He reached down and gently took me by the nape of the neck in his mighty Alpha jaws, setting me safely down on the ground beside him. Before he could raise his head back up, I gratefully licked his face, my tail wagging wildly. "_THANK YOU,_ sir!"

He laughed. "All right, Sweets, all right! You're welcome." He raised his head out of my reach, still chuckling. "You did most of the work yourself, you know. I'm sure you would have figured it out on your own if I hadn't shown up. I can see in your eyes that you're a clever one. And you're a precocious little one, Sweets. You may be an Omega, but it seems that you're bordering on Alpha with some of your personality. You just need to be a little more careful, that's all. Let's get you back to your mother. Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?"

I laid my ears back and smiled up at him. "I think I can walk, sir. Thank you for the offer, though."

"All right, Sweets, let's go." Winston started walking back towards the den area, and I walked along behind him, as fast as my little legs could carry me.

Soon enough, we were back. My Mom raced to me and hugged me to her. "Sweets!" She held me out and glared at me. "Where _were_ you, young lady?!"

Winston cleared his throat. "I was in the forest, Jeena, when I heard her calling for help. She'd evidently gotten a little too curious, since I found her at the bottom of a hole. She can tell you the rest of the story. I'm going to round up a couple of Alphas to fill in that hole. I don't want anyone else falling in and possibly getting hurt, or worse."

My Mom laid her ears back and gave Winston a grateful look. "You saved her, Winston. Thank you! Thank you _SO_ much!" Her tail was wagging happily as she hugged me again.

Winston chuckled. "I only showed her what to do. She saved herself, really. As I told her, I'm sure she would have figured it out on her own if I hadn't happened along. She's going to be quite the clever Omega when she grows up. She just needs to keep that curiosity in check, at least until she's old enough to take care of herself. I need to go get some of the other Alphas to get that hole filled. I'll see you later, Jeena. You too, Sweets." He smiled and nodded to us, then left.

"Let's get back to the others, Sweets. I think you have a story to tell us." She let me go and trotted back towards where the rest of the pups were waiting, with me following close behind.

That was the day I learned that no matter how deep a hole we seem to find ourselves in sometimes, we can get out if we'll just work on digging steps to climb back out.


End file.
